CELTICS 97, MAVS 90: Boston surges for another comeback win

Scott SouzaMetroWest Daily News

Wednesday

Dec 6, 2017 at 11:17 PMDec 6, 2017 at 11:18 PM

BOSTON — As the Dallas Mavericks worked their way back into a tie game with the Celtics early in the fourth quarter Wednesday night there was a looming reality that has become all too damning for opponents playing at TD Garden late in games this season.

Kyrie Irving was getting ready to come back into the game.

He began hopping up and down on the bench with about 7:30 on the clock, grabbed his mask and headed to the scorer’s table with seven to go, before entering the fray during a timeout with 6:46 to play.

He went on to score nine points over the next five minutes and sparked the Celtics on a 12-2 run on their way to a 97-90 victory.

“Just winning time,” Irving said. “It’s as simple as that. It’s always fun when the game’s close. I know you guys (the media) probably get tired of hearing me say it, but it’s fun. It’s fun for me. You really just have to go into your bag of tricks and prepare for whatever the defense will throw at you.”

Still in a draw with 4:29 on the clock, the Celtics again looked to Irving to close out the victory, and he responded with a basket and a three-point play to spark a 7-0 run and 92-85 lead with 3:15 to play.

A Terry Rozier free throw made it an eight-point game with 2:00 to play into a timeout. A Wesley Matthews basket made it a two-possession game before Irving kissed the backboard on a floater for a 95-87 lead.

“It all starts with Kyrie,” said Celtics center Al Horford. “I think everybody knows that. He came in and made some big plays, some big shots. Then our defense in the second half was great. I feel we really locked down and did a better job.”

The Celtics got to a loose ball on the next Mavericks miss and Irving found Rozier for a driving slam and a 97-87 lead into the final minute.

Rozier then grabbed the rebound off another Mavericks miss and the Celtics pitched a shutout into the final seconds on their way to a fourth straight win and 22nd victory in their last 24 games.

“Coach mentioned it after the game,” Rozier said of Brad Stevens, “that we are at our best when we’re just flying around, and everyone’s covering for one another. Our wings and guards are in there grabbing rebounds and flying around. We made a lot of things happen at the end of the game.”

Irving finished with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, Horford threatened a triple-double for the second straight game with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Jayson Tatum had 17 points and 10 rebounds for a Boston team playing without Marcus Morris (knee) and Jaylen Brown (swollen eye).

Shane Larkin lent a big hand off the bench with 11 points and three 3-pointers, while Rozier delivered 12 points and nine rebounds and Daniel Theis had a career-high 11 rebounds.

Down three to start the fourth, after trailing by as many as 12 early in the half, the Celtics were able to regain the lead 90 seconds into the final quarter on a Theis slam and pair of Rozier free throws.

Theis then grabbed an offensive rebound and hit Larkin for a second-chance 3-pointer before Rozier drilled a 3-pointer for a 10-0 run to start the fourth and 80-73 lead with 9:07 to play. But the old-school Mavericks shot right back as Dirk Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer before J.J. Barea drilled a 3-pointer for an 8-1 run that tied the game with 7:23 on the clock.

A Theis put-back slam and Irving basket put Boston back up four when Nowitzki answered with a long jumper for a two-point game into a Stevens timeout with 5:02 to play. Harrison Barnes knotted things up with 4:29 left, but Marcus Smart got loose for his first basket of the night with 4:13 left for the lead before Irving made it a four-point game with 3:44 to go.

Irving then drove for a three-point play and a 92-85 lead with 3:15 remaining to ignite the game-deciding run.

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